4.Joshua McKelligan — Direct/Cross
235 linesTHE COURT: All right. So members of the jury, it's 1:00, so we're—1:01, so don't hold that against me. So we're gonna take the afternoon recess at this point. I'm gonna ask you to be ready to come back 2:00, in, in... with the next witness. My instructions are the same. During the break, don't talk about this case, don't do any research, don't read anything, don't listen to anything. And then, see you back here about 2:00. Okay. Thank you.
BAILIFF: Court, all rise. Jurors, kindly close your notebooks, place them on the chairs, please. This way, please.
BAILIFF: Jurors are dismissed. All rise.
MR. REDDINGTON: Before we break, Judge, I apologize. I just—when I introduced the records from Social Health, actually I put in a cover page and a wrong page that does not reference the actual medical record that I have. So do you have any objection if we substitute that? It's—
MS. SPRAGUE: Right. So I'm sorry, I just missed the part where you said it's different than what you submitted.
MR. REDDINGTON: Yeah. What I submitted is just like a cover letter and some other things. I thought I submitted the medical record, but I didn't.
MS. SPRAGUE: Oh, no objection.
THE COURT: All right. So you wanna substitute those?
MR. REDDINGTON: Yeah, sure.
COURT REPORTER: Is it from this new batch?
THE COURT: Yeah.
MR. REDDINGTON: No, thank you.
THE COURT: All right. All right. Thank you. All right, so we'll be in recess till about 2:00.
BAILIFF: Court, all rise.
BAILIFF: This court is back in session. You may be seated.
COURT CLERK: Your Honor, for the purpose of the record, we return back to the matter of the Commonwealth versus Lindsay Clancy. All parties are present, excluding the jury.
THE COURT: All right. Counsel, are we ready for the jury?
MS. SPRAGUE: Yes.
THE COURT: All right.
BAILIFF: Court, all rise. Jury is entering.
BAILIFF: This court is now in session. You may be seated.
COURT CLERK: Your Honor, for the purpose of the record, we return back to the trial of Commonwealth versus Lindsay Clancy. All parties are present, including the defendant and including the 18 jurors.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Thank you, members of the jury. We're gonna now return to the Commonwealth's presentation. Ms. Sprague?
MS. SPRAGUE: Thank you, Your Honor. Commonwealth calls Joshua McKelligan.
BAILIFF: Will you stop right there and raise your right hand for the clerk, please?
COURT CLERK: Good afternoon. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony and the evidence you shall give to the court and the jury in the matter now pending between the Commonwealth and the defendant at the bar shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I do.
COURT CLERK: Thank you, sir. You may be seated.
BAILIFF: Watch your step, please.
THE COURT: All right. Good afternoon, sir.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Afternoon.
THE COURT: Attorney Sprague.
MS. SPRAGUE: Thank you, Your Honor. Good afternoon. Can you please state and spell your name for the record?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Joshua McKelligan. M-C-K-E-L-L-I-G-A-N.
MS. SPRAGUE: Where do you work?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: The Massachusetts State Police.
MS. SPRAGUE: How long have you been with the State Police?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Since December of twenty thirteen.
MS. SPRAGUE: In January of 2023, where were you assigned?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: To the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.
MS. SPRAGUE: And what was your role there?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I was a trooper assigned to the Homicide and Major Crimes section.
MS. SPRAGUE: And could you tell us within that unit what the role of a case officer is?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: A case officer is assigned cases as they come in. And the case officer then is the point of contact for the district attorney's office, the state police, other agencies.
MS. SPRAGUE: And as a case officer for a homicide, for example, when you respond to a scene and you're doing the investigation, as time progresses, is the case officer doing every part of the investigation?
MS. SPRAGUE: What is the role of a case officer in terms of managing or collecting information?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Is to try to gather everything. And then we try to keep track of what's been going on with the investigation.
MS. SPRAGUE: And so within the State Police detective unit at the Plymouth County DA's office, there are a group of troopers that work there, correct?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And do you work as a team on any homicide investigations you're working on?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And the case officer, is it their role to collect information and evidence from the other troopers as they gather it?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: Do you have a supervisor when you are the case officer?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: I wanna direct your attention to January 24th, 2023. Did you learn that day of an incident that had happened at 47 Summer Street in Duxbury?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I did.
MS. SPRAGUE: What time did you learn about that approximately?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: About 6:45 PM.
MS. SPRAGUE: PM?
MS. SPRAGUE: And how did you learn that information?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: The duty lieutenant in the state police headquarters in Middleborough called me.
MS. SPRAGUE: Once you had that information, what did you do?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I called my supervisor and then responded to Duxbury.
MS. SPRAGUE: And where in Duxbury did you respond?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I went to Duxbury Police Station.
MS. SPRAGUE: And at that point in time, did you know that you were going to be the case officer for this case?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Not when I responded, but at the police station, I was informed I was gonna be.
MS. SPRAGUE: And at some point in time, did you go to 47 Summer Street in Duxbury?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I did.
MS. SPRAGUE: And when was that?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: After I got a search warrant, I went to the house. It was probably, I think around early morning, between 3:00 and 4:00, sometime like that.
MS. SPRAGUE: Between 3:00 and 4:00 AM?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: So it'd be the early morning hours of January 25th, 2023?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And did you take part in the search of the home?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I did not.
MS. SPRAGUE: What was your role there at the home that night or in the early morning hours?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I just went to observe the house, just to see what the scene in the house looked like.
MS. SPRAGUE: So other officers were conducting the search?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: At the scene, did you eventually walk through the house?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And was that before or after the search was executed?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: After the search.
MS. SPRAGUE: At some point in time, did you go into the master bedroom on the second floor?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And what did you observe in that room?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I remember a tent style, like covering a crib, I believe. There was a mirror in front of me. To the left there was the bed. And then I remember blood on the floor.
MS. SPRAGUE: And you said to the left, but pointed with your right arm.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: No, it was my left hand.
MS. SPRAGUE: Your left. Okay.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: All right. So you go into the bedroom and what do you... Do you see anything on the floor, on the walls, the bedding, anything?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes. Just going off of memory, I remember there was blood on the floor, and the mirror was kind of like straight ahead from the entrance of the door.
MS. SPRAGUE: Okay. And was a video taken of the house that included that room in particular?
MS. SPRAGUE: I'd like to move to submit the scene video from the home as the next exhibit.
THE COURT: Any objection?
THE COURT: All right. That may be admitted.
COURT REPORTER: Exhibit 264.
MS. SPRAGUE: And if we could play the portion of the video for the master bedroom.
THE COURT: Sure.
MS. SPRAGUE: Thank you. Sir, when you went into the master bedroom, did you see blood sprayed all over the walls and everywhere?
MS. SPRAGUE: And fair to say that the video shows all of the walls in the bedroom and doesn't show any spatter or anything on the walls?
MS. SPRAGUE: Did you also go outside into the backyard and look at the exterior of the home?
MS. SPRAGUE: If we could have the photos, please.
MS. SPRAGUE: If we could zoom in on the top window. Does this photo show the condition of the upstairs window, the second-floor window, that leads to the master bedroom?
MS. SPRAGUE: And the screen there in the video, is that how it was when you saw it that night?
MS. SPRAGUE: Pushed up?
MS. SPRAGUE: And if we could see the next photo.
MS. SPRAGUE: If we could go back to the first one.
MS. SPRAGUE: Actually, we can go back, yes, to the first one, and zoom in in the middle there, between the two windows. And these areas of red-brown stains on the exterior of the house, did you observe those that night on, in the early-morning hours of January 25th, 2023?
MS. SPRAGUE: And then the third photo, please. If we could zoom in on the... in there. This third photo, would this be the— ... first-floor window below the master bedroom window?
MS. SPRAGUE: And these red-brown stains on the shingles, and then on the window ledge there, were those there in the early-morning hours of January 25th, 2023?
MS. SPRAGUE: Could we have these three photos marked as the next exhibit on the desk?
THE COURT: The objection's overruled. They may be admitted.
COURT REPORTER: Exhibit 265.
MS. SPRAGUE: Now, as the investigation proceeded, did you learn, or did other officers learn from Patrick Clancy that the defendant was on some psychiatric medication?
MS. SPRAGUE: And was that information relayed to you in terms of preparing the search warrant?
MS. SPRAGUE: And is that why you included prescription medication in the search warrant?
MS. SPRAGUE: At that point in time, did you or any of the other officers know that the defendant had crushed up pills and taken them that night?
MS. SPRAGUE: At some point in time, did Patrick Clancy bring pill bottles to the state police and turn them over?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes, he did.
MS. SPRAGUE: And where did he say those were from?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: In the center console of his truck. Not the top section, the section underneath it.
MS. SPRAGUE: Did he tell you at some point that pills had been found in the nightstand drawer?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes, he did.
MS. SPRAGUE: And that was in the master bedroom?
MS. SPRAGUE: And did he tell you who he found those with?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes, he did.
MS. SPRAGUE: And who was that?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: His attorney.
MS. SPRAGUE: And did he tell you why he gave those pills—
MR. REDDINGTON: Objection. I believe it was me, and I'm not his attorney.
THE COURT: Why don't you re-ask that, what it was that Patrick Clancy said?
MS. SPRAGUE: What was it that Patrick Clancy said? Did he give you a name or just say, "My attorney"?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: He said Kevin Reddington.
MS. SPRAGUE: And did he tell you why he gave the pills to Attorney Reddington instead of giving them to you like he gave the other pills?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: No, he did not.
MS. SPRAGUE: He never attempted to turn those pills in to the State Police, or those bottles in to the State Police. Is that correct?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Correct.
MS. SPRAGUE: At some point in time, did you learn that the Clancy family had gone to the Museum of Science on January 8th, 2023?
MS. SPRAGUE: And was a video obtained?
MS. SPRAGUE: Did you watch that video?
MS. SPRAGUE: Did you observe the family, including the defendant, interacting with each other, and the defendant specifically interacting with the children in exhibits at the museum?
MS. SPRAGUE: Your Honor, at this point in time, Exhibit 14, I'd ask to play just a small portion of that. That has not been played previously.
THE COURT: All right.
MS. SPRAGUE: We can pause here for just a moment. Do you see the Clancy family in this video footage?
MS. SPRAGUE: And if you could just get up and point to them, with the court's permission.
THE COURT: Sure.
MS. SPRAGUE: Okay. And we could press play.
MS. SPRAGUE: And at this point in time in the video, are we seeing Patrick Clancy take Dawson Clancy out of that room, leaving Lindsay Clancy with Callan and Cora?
MS. SPRAGUE: Is that Cora there in the red skirt?
MS. SPRAGUE: Now, at this point in the video, at approximately 11:58 and 30 seconds, what is happening in the video footage now?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Cora's beginning to play with the exhibit. Patrick's standing off by himself. Lindsay Clancy is with Callan, and Dawson is watching.
MS. SPRAGUE: Could you just point out where Patrick and Dawson are?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Patrick. Dawson.
MS. SPRAGUE: For the record, you've pointed to Patrick towards the top of the screen, and Dawson near the entrance to the exhibit.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes. Yes.
MS. SPRAGUE: And throughout this video, in this portion of the video, can the defendant be seen instructing the children, pointing to them, showing them how to work the exhibit and operating some type of control panel?
MS. SPRAGUE: And at some point, does the switch and the defendant helps Dawson with the same exhibit?
MS. SPRAGUE: And that goes on for several minutes.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Yes, I believe so.
MS. SPRAGUE: And showing, I think we've gone forward to approximately noon in the video timer.
MS. SPRAGUE: Thank you.
MS. SPRAGUE: Excuse me.
MS. SPRAGUE: Sir, during the grand jury process, did you attend a meeting with the medical examiner in this case?
MS. SPRAGUE: And did you participate in interviewing her, specifically Dr. Barbara Vidal Olson?
MS. SPRAGUE: And did you participate in interviewing her, specifically the portion of her proposed testimony where she was explaining how someone dies from strangulation?
MS. SPRAGUE: And would it be fair to say that at some point in time, she was asked—
MR. REDDINGTON: Objection.
THE COURT: I'll see counsel at sidebar.
MS. SPRAGUE: Sir, in that meeting with the medical examiner, did she tell you that constant pressure would need to be applied even after the person went unconscious in a strangulation in order to effect death?
MS. SPRAGUE: Did she tell you that it takes several minutes of continuous pressure to cause death?
MR. REDDINGTON: Can we not have leading questions? If this is gonna be admitted, can we not have leading questions? It's her witness.
THE COURT: Go ahead. Ask him what she said.
MS. SPRAGUE: Do you recall... Sorry.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MS. SPRAGUE: Do you recall what she said about the time it takes to strangle someone to death?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: After unconsciousness, I think she said several minutes. It would take several more minutes for someone to die.
MS. SPRAGUE: And would that be several more minutes of strangulation?
MS. SPRAGUE: I have no further questions. Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Mr. Reddington.
MR. REDDINGTON: So she asked you about the pills that were located in the master bedroom by Patrick when I was with him, right?
MR. REDDINGTON: And you know that Patrick indicated that after you guys had cleared the scene, finished with your investigation, seized all the pill bottles that you were able to locate, that I went in the house with him, and I took a number of items. Photographs, albums, things on the wall and stuff like that, right?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: All I know is that the pill bottles, I don't know what else you took.
MR. REDDINGTON: Oh, just the pill bottles. And at some point I imagine the DA must have shown you this. Do you recognize this as being the nightstand drawer?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: It looks similar to the one that was in the video.
MR. REDDINGTON: You wanna see it? Look at it?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I mean, it looks similar to the one... I've never seen that. I don't know—
MR. REDDINGTON: Oh, okay. So these would be the bottles that were in there, right?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I don't know.
MR. REDDINGTON: You don't know? And do you know that when these were seized, the first thing that was done is I contacted the DA's office and said that I had 'em?
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I don't know what you said to them.
MR. REDDINGTON: Well, I said, "You wanna come by my office and pick up anything I have? You're welcome to look at it, seize it, have it analyzed, send it to a crime lab. I didn't care."
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: I don't know what you said.
MR. REDDINGTON: So, yeah. Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Any redirect?
MS. SPRAGUE: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, sir.
JOSHUA MCKELLIGAN: Thank you.